Department for Transport

Penrith (North Lakes) Station: Buildings

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 21 December (HL4992), what plans they have to (1) dispose of, or (2) otherwise get value for the taxpayer, from the former Station Master's House at Penrith North Lakes Railway Station.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department has no plans to return to use the former Station Master's house at Penrith North Lakes railway station.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Mathematics: Research

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support research into mathematics that is not defined as affecting the physical and material universe.

Lord Callanan: The UK is a world leader in Mathematics. British mathematicians publish a large volume of highly regarded work. When compared to international colleagues, British mathematicians have the 5th largest share of publications in the world. When looking at the top 1% of most cited publications, UK mathematicians are responsible for the third largest share.Between Financial Year 2015-2016 and September 2021, UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) council the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) committed £259.9m to research grants Mathematical Sciences. This includes commitment from the Additional Funding Programme. Following the Government’s announcement in January 2020 to invest additional funding into Mathematical Sciences, UKRI has awarded around £104 million of additional funding to the discipline, over and above EPSRC’s core Mathematical Sciences Theme budget. The additional funding has covered institutes, small and large research grants, fellowships, doctoral studentships and postdoctoral awards. On the 27 October 2021, the Government announced the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review. BEIS and UKRI will now set out how we meet the commitment to invest additional funding into Mathematical sciences in forthcoming years, as part of the allocations process.

Heat Pumps: Housing

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many annual extra heat pump installations the introduction of the Future Homes Standard from 2025 will incentivise.

Lord Callanan: The Government will be consulting on the exact technical specification of the Future Homes Standard in 2023. A robust estimate of the impact of the standard with regards heat pump installations will be possible once its technical specification is finalised. We are clear however that when it is implemented in 2025, all new homes built to the Future Homes Standard will have low carbon heating, such as heat pumps. With that in mind, the Department’s impact assessment on our proposal to introduce a market-based mechanism for low carbon heat included an indicative estimate of up to around 200,000 heat pump installations per year from 2027, consistent with DLUHC estimates of around 250,000 annual net new-build completions from 2023 to 2029.

Department of Health and Social Care

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to protect the (1) primary, and (2) secondary, immunodeficiency community against COVID-19 this winter.

Lord Kamall: On 29 November 2021, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant. The JCVI advised that severely immunosuppressed individuals who have completed their primary course of a COVID-19 vaccine of three primary doses, should be offered a booster vaccination, with a minimum of three months between the third primary and booster dose. Those who have not yet received their third primary dose may receive the third dose immediately with a booster dose in three months, in line with the clinical advice on optimal timing.Immunocompromised individuals are a priority cohort for research into therapeutic and prophylaxis treatments such as monoclonal antibody therapies, novel antivirals, and repurposed compounds. For those patients in the highest risk cohort who have not been hospitalised, treatments can be accessed from COVID Medicines Delivery Units where clinically eligible. These treatments include the anti-viral drug molnupiravir and the monoclonal antibody infusion sotrovimab. The monoclonal antibody treatment ronapreve is available to treat the most vulnerable hospitalised patients where genotyping shows they are not infected by the Omicron variant. Where vulnerable patients with hospital-onset COVID-19 which is confirmed as the Omicron variant, they may be eligible to receive sotrovimab.In addition, oral antiviral treatments are available through PANORAMIC national study, run by the University of Oxford. This study is open to clinically eligible individuals in the United Kingdom.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government who is responsible for giving the COVID-19 booster vaccination to housebound patients; and what is their mechanism for delivery if their GPs have opted out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

Lord Kamall: The National Health Service is responsible for providing COVID-19 booster vaccinations to housebound patients. If a general practitioner (GP) practice is signed up to the Enhanced Service for phase three of the vaccination programme, the practice will provide booster doses to housebound patients or make alternative arrangements. If a practice is not signed up to the Enhanced Service, they will request that the local clinical commissioning group  make arrangements via another Primary Care Network (PCN) grouping or alternative provider.Some patients may be able to attend a PCN designated site with assistance. Discussions should be held between the GP and the patient’s family and/or carer to facilitate this. For those patients who are unable to travel to a designated site, PCNs have established mobile or roving vaccination teams to deliver COVID-19 vaccines directly in an individual’s home.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Lord Stevens of Birmingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it remains their policy, set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, that funding for mental health services should annually grow as a share of overall NHS revenue expenditure.

Lord Kamall: The NHS Long Term Plan committed to increase spending on mental health services in real terms by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24. We are ensuring every clinical commissioning group and integrated care board meets the Mental Health Investment Standard for spending on mental health to increase at least in line with the growth in their overall funding allocations.

Prisoners: Mental Health Services

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many women in prison aged (1) 18–24, or (2) 25 years or older, have been (a) in receipt of mental health care, or (b) referred to mental health support, whilst in custody.

Lord Kamall: This information is not collected in the format requested.However, NHS England and NHS Improvement have advised that, as at 30 November 2021, the records of nine women aged 18 to 24 years old and 324 women aged 25 years old and over in prison indicate a severe and enduring mental health condition according to Quality and Outcomes Framework definitions and are likely to have received related intervention for their condition. This represents women presenting with significant levels of mental ill-health requiring specialist mental health service interventions and does not include women in custody who have accessed primary care mental health services and are treated through normal primary care provision for lower level presentations.

Travel: Coronavirus

Lord Tyrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they made of the number of PCR tests for travel that would be required between the date of the announcement of their reintroduction of the requirement on 7 December and (1) 5 January 2022, or (2) a date for which an estimate may have been made covering the Christmas and New Year period.

Lord Kamall: The maximum number of travellers per week forecast for the period of 7 December 2021 to 5 January 2022 was 1 to 1.5 million. Providers indicated capacity of approximately 4.4 million polymerase chain reaction tests per week, sufficient for the number required for travel.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any (1) person, or (2) organisation, will be censured for defaults involving the 47 VIP public contracts for facemasks and surgical gowns; and what steps they have taken in connection with defaults associated with their contract with PPE MedPro.

Lord Kamall: We have no plans to censure a single individual or organisation. The contract with PPE Medpro is considered commercially sensitive as the Department is currently engaged in a mediation process concerning their products, which involves confidentiality undertakings.

Government Departments: Procurement

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of the 47 VIP public contracts involving facemasks and surgical gowns have led to defaults that are now in dispute; what estimate they have made of the percentage of public contracts that involve defaults; and what is the total cost to public funds of public contacts that involve defaults.

Lord Kamall: The information is not held in the format requested.

Prostate Cancer: Medical Treatments

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that irreversible electroporation for the treatment of prostate cancer is made available more widely in the NHS, following the pilot by University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Lord Kamall: At present, nanoknife or irreversible electroporation treatment should only be provided to prostate cancer patients in the National Health Service in England as part of research studies, in line with recommendations made by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). As this procedure would fall within NHS England and NHS Improvement’s direct commissioning responsibility for specialised services, clinicians can submit new policy applications at any time, where they consider that there is clear evidence of benefit for patients.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those not registered with a GP are able to access COVID-19 vaccinations.

Lord Kamall: Individuals do not need to be registered with a general practitioner (GP) to use a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site. Under the General Practice COVID-19 vaccination programme 2020/21 Enhanced Service Specification, GP practices are able to vaccinate unregistered patients when they are eligible.Local systems have plans for full coverage of all health inclusion groups, which may include people not registered with a GP. The National Health Service and local partners will contact these patients to ensure they are offered appropriate support to receive the vaccine. We are also working with community leaders and partners on initiatives to encourage people to register with a GP.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether those who arrived as (1) refugees, and (2) migrants, in the UK in the past year are receiving priority for COVID-19 vaccinations.

Lord Kamall: Vaccination against COVID-19 is offered to every adult living in the United Kingdom free of charge, regardless of immigration status. This includes those who arrived as refugees and migrants, providing they are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination. Entitlement to free National Health Service treatment is generally based on ordinary residence in the UK. A person who can show they have taken up ordinary residence in the UK can access all NHS services immediately, including COVID-19 vaccinations, based on clinical need. No immigration checks are needed to receive these services and the NHS is not required to report undocumented migrants to the Home Office.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the COVID-19 vaccination programme to all 5 to 11 year olds.

Lord Kamall: On 22 December 2021, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advised that children aged five to 11 years old in a clinical risk group, or who are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed, should be offered two 10 microgram doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine with an interval of eight weeks between the first and second doses. Further advice and assessment regarding COVID-19 vaccination for other five to 11 year olds will be issued in due course following consideration of additional data.

Flour: Folic Acid

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the Written Statement byLord Kamall on 11 October (HLWS298), what progress is being made in introducing mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.

Lord Kamall: Officials from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland are working to implement folic acid fortification, as part of the review on the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and the Bread and Flour (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1998.The UK Government and the devolved administrations have engaged industry on the decision to fortify non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid and are now developing draft legislation and an impact assessment for future consultation.

Immunotherapy: Shortages

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes they have made to the commissioning eligibility criteria for immunoglobulin use since the identification of a shortage of immunoglobulin; and (1) when, and (2) how, these will be implemented.

Lord Kamall: In 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement updated the clinical commissioning criteria for the use of therapeutic immunoglobin. This update was independent of any shortages in the supply of immunoglobin. The criteria were amended to reflect the conditions where therapeutic immunoglobin treatment is now routinely commissioned and those where this treatment would no longer be routinely commissioned. This follows a clinical evidence review; advice from the Immunoglobin Expert Working Group; engagement with patients and clinicians; and the development of updated clinical policies for particular specialities. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s revised criteria was issued to National Health Service providers on 9 December 2021 for immediate implementation. Tables showing a list of new indications where therapeutic immunoglobin treatment is now routinely commissioned and where the treatment will be no longer routinely commissioned are attached, due to the size of the data. The indications removed from the 2021 commissioning criteria due to limited clinical evidence for the efficacy of the treatment will be subject to further stakeholder testing in 2022 to determine future commissioning policy in these areas. In the interim these indications remain commissioned indications until the stakeholder testing has been completed.Table (docx, 24.1KB)

Medical Equipment

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the (1) objectives, and (2) timeline, of the strategy being developed by the MedTech Directorate in relation to innovation, resilience, effectiveness and value for money in the medical devices sector.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the MedTech Directorate will publish their strategy on the medical devices market; when the strategy will be opened up for public consultation; and in what form the consultation will take place.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps the MedTech Directorate is taking to ensure effective engagement during the development of strategy for the medical devices market with (1) patient associations, (2) clinician nurse specialist groups, and (3) manufacturers and suppliers of relevant medical devices.

Lord Kamall: The MedTech strategy is planned for publication in the first half of 2022. It will consider regulation, resilience, sustainability and innovation to ensure safety, clinical efficacy and value for money. It aims to ensure resilience in supply chains, enhance innovation, build infrastructure including data and collaboration with industry.The MedTech Directorate has engaged stakeholders in public bodies and with industry on the strategy’s objectives and priorities. The strategy does not meet the formal requirement to undertake a public consultation. Engagement has focused on those stakeholders most impacted by the strategy in industry and the healthcare system. Once the strategy is drafted, we will seek their feedback and endorsement including through the NHS Medical Advisory Group. This is formed of clinicians, nurses, public bodies and industry via trade associations, manufacturers and suppliers of relevant medical devices.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks made byLord Kamall on 29 November (HL Deb, col 1223), what discussions they have held to ensure that countries are not disincentivised from transparent reporting of variants to the World Health Organisation.

Lord Kamall: On 29 November 2021, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care chaired a meeting of G7 Health Ministers to discuss the spread of the Omicron variant. G7 Health Ministers praised the exemplary work of South Africa in detecting the variant and alerting other countries. Health Ministers committed to working with other nations to share information and ensure transparent reporting of variants.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release: Females

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of hidden homelessness among women leaving prison; and how, if at all, this is recorded in accommodation outcomes.

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are available to the Community Accommodation Service to account for the needs of women leaving prison.

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the link between homelessness and reoffending for women leaving prison.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: We recognise how important it is that everyone leaving prison should have somewhere to live, as accommodation enables offenders to hold down a job and reduces the likelihood of them re-offending.Community Probation Practitioners and Homelessness Prevention Teams take proactive steps before release with prison leavers at risk of homelessness, including referral to Local Housing Authorities and working with partners and providers.Evidence shows that there is a link between homelessness and reoffending; Prison leavers without settled accommodation are 50 per cent more likely to reoffend. The Government has, therefore, made addressing rough sleeping a priority and the Ministry of Justice is committed to working across government to end rough sleeping.The Target Operating Model for probation services in England and Wales, published in February 2021, included performance measures for prison leavers housed on release from custody (90%), and settled accommodation for all supervised individuals (those released from prison and those on community sentences) three months after commencement of their supervision (80%). Accommodation circumstances for offenders are reported annually as official statistics. Data for the period 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 will be published in July 2022 in the Community Performance Annual report.The Prisons Strategy White Paper, published in December, sets out our vision for reducing reoffending. This includes our aim that no-one subject to probation supervision is released from prison homeless. We are therefore expanding our new Community Accommodation Service to support the thousands of people in England and Wales who leave prison each year without accommodation. The service takes account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs, with accommodation provision dedicated to single gender usage as required. Community Probation Practitioners, working together with local partners, are responsible for ensuring that vulnerable female prison leavers receive appropriate support and are provided with housing beyond the 12 weeks emergency accommodation.

Prisoners: Disciplinary Proceedings

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many adjudications were received by women in prison aged (1) 18–24, or (2) 25 years or older, for each of the last 10 years.

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many adjudications were received by men in prison aged (1) 18–24, or (2) 25 years or older, for each of the last 10 years.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The prisoner discipline system upholds justice in prisons and ensures incidents of prison rule-breaking have consequences. The Ministry of Justice monitors adjudication outcomes by offence, age, gender, ethnicity, religion and adjudicator, this data is published quarterly and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly. The specific information requested can be found in the table attached.Table (xlsx, 16.1KB)

Prisoners: Restraint Techniques

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many women in prison aged (1) 18–24, or (2) 25 years or older, experienced physical restraint by one or more members of staff in each of the last 10 years.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: We can only provide the requested data on use of force incidents involving women in prison aged (1) 18–24, or (2) 25 years or older, by one or more members of staff for the period of year ending March 2019 to year ending March 2021. This is detailed in the attached Excel spreadsheet. We cannot access the requested data for the previous seven years as we did not collate the information on an individual case basis and are unable to do so retrospectively. Every use of physical force is reviewed and prison officers receive appropriate training to ensure that it is only used when necessary, reasonable and proportionate.Table (xlsx, 17.9KB)

Prerogative of Mercy

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many royal pardons were granted to people with terrorism-related convictions between 1991 and 2003.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: I can confirm that no applications for Royal Prerogative of Mercy were recommended to Her Majesty the Queen for terrorism related offences between 1991 and 2003.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

Lord Holmes of Richmond: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 30 November (HL Deb, col 1265), what new solutions to support citizens who use its services the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is exploring; whether the DWP is running any proof of concepts on digital payments; what “alternative technologies” they are considering; and what plans they have to reconsider distributed ledger technology solutions.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: DWP is committed to harnessing the potential of new technologies in making a positive difference to our customers’ lives. The department is currently undertaking a modernisation programme of work which does also include reimagining the future of payments, exploring using disruptive and alternative technologies to challenge traditional thinking and processes. DWP has previously undertaken proof of concept using disruptive technologies such as Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology to challenge and change how we manage and distribute money, drive more resilience and security. In this proof of concept, DWP examined how blockchain technologies could be used to issue welfare payments to our banking partners on a near real-time basis, helping reduce 3rd party dependencies. During this initial internal proof of concept, no claimants were involved and the work was used to inform the decision to develop a future method of payment strategy that outlines DWP’s commitment to improving the methods available to make payments to customers. We continue to explore payment innovations, including distributed ledger and blockchain technologies and their potential to securely deliver services that our customers rely on.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Baroness Buscombe: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the overall figure for benefit fraud to reduce back to the levels seen prior to March 2020.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: We are developing the options for setting an overall fraud and error target. Targets will reflect the recent announcement of an additional £510m investment and the attendant initiatives we are developing to further reduce the fraud and error rate. We will provide more information on this in our 2022 Annual Report and Accounts.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Livestock: Waste Disposal

Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have madeof the CO2 emissions resulting from the mandatory incineration of fallen livestock; and what plans, if any, they have to allow livestock to be buried rather than incinerated.

Lord Benyon: No assessment has been made of the CO2 emissions from incineration of fallen livestock. Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions have reduced by 13 percent since 1990 (as of 2019), with many farms using more efficient agricultural practices. Land use, land use change and forestry continue to provide benefits in carbon sequestration. The Government recognises the importance of reducing emissions further in these sectors. The Net Zero Strategy and the 25 Year Environment Plan set out the Government’s ambition for how this will be achieved. Rules regarding the disposal of fallen livestock are in place to protect animal and public health by preventing dangerous pathogens spreading disease into the soil, groundwater, or air. Some pathogens can persist for many decades in the environment and only tiny quantities are needed to infect animals. Therefore, strict regulations are in place as to why fallen livestock cannot be buried but must be disposed of at one of the following: knackers’ yard, hunt kennel, maggot farm, incinerator, or a renderer. We have no plans to consider the option of burying.

Pheasants

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they regard captive-reared pheasants released into the environment as livestock or wildlife.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: A released captive-reared pheasant may be regarded as livestock if it remains significantly dependent on a keeper for their survival, for example for the provision of food, water, or shelter.

Northern Ireland Protocol: Packaging

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written AnswerbyLord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 24 December 2021 (HL4865), whether, under the law currently in force, goods from Northern Ireland can continue to use GB packaging or must have (1) NI, or (2) EU, packaging, as a result of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland which requires Northern Ireland to abide by EU rules on single plastics.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: There is currently nothing to prevent goods from Northern Ireland from using GB packaging.

Home Office

Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority: Human Trafficking

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 13 December 2021 (HL4899), what assessment they have made of how the creation of an Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority will streamline decision making with regard to the identification of victims of trafficking through the National Referral Mechanism.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) was created to streamline decision-making and ensure, wherever possible, that the various factors which may be pertinent to decisions about an individual are taken by those who can consider their circumstances most fully.The data on decisions taken by the IECA will be set out in the quarterly publication of NRM statistics and a breakdown by competent authority will be published once there is sufficient data to ensure individuals are not identifiable. We will regularly review this data to understand the impact of the change and ensure polices are being applied consistently.The creation of the IECA was an internal restructure within the Home Office. A full assessment of the Public Sector Equality Duty was undertaken and, in line with our ongoing duty, will be kept under review.

British Nationality

Lord Anderson of Ipswich: To ask Her Majesty's Government when information relating to the use of deprivation of citizenship orders under section 40(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981 in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, and (3) 2021, will be published.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Figures for numbers of conducive deprivation orders, which are made under Section 40(2) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, have been published as part of the HM Government Transparency Report: Disruptive and Investigatory Powers. Four reports have been published to date in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020 which provide the number of deprivation of citizenship orders made up until the end of 2018.A further publication which includes the more recent data is due to be published shortly.

British Nationality

Lord Anderson of Ipswich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were deprived of their citizenship under section 40(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981 for each year from 2010 to 2018, broken down by (1) the grounds upon which those deprivation orders were made, (2) whether or not the individual had previously been granted refugee status, discretionary leave or humanitarian protection in the UK, (3) whether or not the individual was under the age of 18, and (4) whether the individual was in the UK at the time of the deprivation.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Figures for numbers of conducive deprivation orders, which are made under Section 40(2) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, have been published as part of the HM Government Transparency Report: Disruptive and Investigatory Powers. Four reports have been published to date in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020 which provide the number of deprivation of citizenship orders made up until the end of 2018.YearNumber of Individuals2010520116201252013820144201552016142017104201821  Figures are provided on an annual basis and we do not break those figures down further into sub-categories.

British Nationality

Lord Anderson of Ipswich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many appeals against deprivation of citizenship orders under section 40(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981 have been made in each of the last five years; and how many of those appeals were upheld.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Figures for numbers of conducive deprivation orders, which are made under Section 40(2) of the 1981 British Nationality Act (BNA 1981), have been published as part of the HM Government Transparency Report: Disruptive and Investigatory Powers. Four reports have been published to date in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020 which provide the number of deprivation of citizenship orders made up until the end of 2018. Figures are provided on an annual basis and we do not break those figures down further into sub-categories. However, data on the number of people who appealed against a deprivation of British citizenship decision under both Section 40(2) and 40(3) of the BNA 1981 has been published. The table shows a breakdown by year of appeals lodged between 05/03/2011 and 31/12/2018 against deprivation decisions and orders. YearNo of people who lodged an appeal2011520125201310201429201537201641201737201888Total252 The following notes should be considered when viewing this data: These statistics have been taken from a live operational database. As such, numbers may change as information on that system is updated.Data extracted on 17/05/2021.Date relates to the number of people who lodged an appeal between 05/03/2011 and 31/12/2018 against a decision made on a deprivation case.Data relates to main applicants only. A number of the appeals in relation to deprivations under Section 40(2) of the BNA 1981 are ongoing. Therefore, we are unable to provide a partial figure of upheld appeals whilst litigation is ongoing.

British Nationality

Lord Anderson of Ipswich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people in each of the last five years who would have been deprived of their citizenship if there had been no requirement to give prior notification.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Prior to the recent High Court decision in the case of D4, the relevant regulations governing service of notice in deprivation cases, provided adequately for a variety of situations, meaning that there had been no cases where the notification requirement had prevented deprivation action from taking place.

British Nationality: Females

Lord Anderson of Ipswich: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Home Office on 27 January 2021 (UIN 139991), what assessment they have made of the protected characteristics of those deprived of citizenship; and what plans they have, if any, to collect and publish the data on this.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: In order for deprivation on ‘conducive to the public good’ grounds to be a consideration, the starting point is an individual’s conduct, that the individual is a terrorist or an extremist, or involved in espionage, war crimes, serious organised crime or similarly dangerous activities, in order to meet the ‘conducive to the public good’ test.Figures for numbers of conducive deprivation orders, which are made under Section 40(2) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, have been published as part of the HM Government Transparency Report: Disruptive and Investigatory Powers. Four reports have been published to date in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020.Figures are provided on an annual basis and we do not break those figures down further into sub-categories.

Euro 2020: Arrests

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 20 December 2021 (HL4820), how many arrests were made of people identified using CCTV footage and other sources following the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy on 11 July 2021; and what assessment they have made of the report by Baroness Casey of Blackstone published in December 2021 in relation to these arrests.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We do not hold data that categorises arrests made following the Euro 2020 final as CCTV related or resulting from other sources.The Government is considering the recommendations that Baroness Casey of Blackstock’s report contains.

College of Policing: Hate Crime

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Court of Appeal ruling that the College of Policing guidance on non-crime hate incidents was unlawful, what plans they have to suspend any guidance issued by the College of Policing.

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the 110,000 people who have been recorded as having committed non-crime hate incidents; and what plans they have, if any, to assist such individuals in bringing legal action against the College of Policing.

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to suspend guidance produced by the College of Policing until such guidance can be laid before Parliament as regulations.

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to remove the people recorded as having committed non-crimes hate incidents from police records.

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, (1) to investigate, and (2) to dismiss, those in the College of Policing who approved the non-crime hate incidents guidance.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government recognises the concern surrounding the recording of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs). We have also noted the recent Court of Appeal judgment in the Harry Miller v College of Policing case that was handed down on 20 December 2021. The Court found that the recording of NCHIs is lawful provided that there are robust safeguards in place so that the interference with freedom of expression is proportionate. Accordingly, we have tabled amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to ensure that the recording of NCHIs is governed by a Code of Practice that is subject to Parliamentary approval. The content of the Code will be drafted in due course, and will make the processes surrounding the recording and retention of NCHI data more transparent and subject to stronger safeguards. The College of Policing will also reflect on the Court of Appeal’s judgment carefully and make any changes that are necessary to its existing guidance which will remain in force in the interim period before the new Code enters into effect.

Qualifications

Lord Inglewood: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce standard tests for safeguarding for organisations in order toprovide evidence of nationally recognised levels of attainment.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Safeguarding relates to a wide range of activity in a variety of settings, and covers a number of potentially vulnerable groups. It is right that organisational safeguarding policies are able to reflect specific sector needs, within clear regulatory frameworks. A number of government departments lead on setting safeguarding standards, guidance and training across the sectors for which they have policy responsibility. For example, the Home Office oversees safeguarding from a policing perspective, the Department for Education leads on safeguarding within education settings, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are responsible for safeguarding within civil society organisations, and the Department of Health and Social Care assure that the NHS is meeting its safeguarding responsibilities. Government departments work closely together to share learning and feedback on safeguarding policy and standards across different settings. For example, there is close collaboration between the Home Office, DHSC and DfE on the implementation of local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements for children, ensuring robust join-up across local authorities, health and policing.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish their plans to implement the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: As set out in my Oral Statement to the House on 6th January, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) has now been launched: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/oral-statement-on-the-afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme. The ACRS will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.

Refugees: Temporary Accommodation

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what responsibility the devolved administrations have for supervising the allocation of temporary homes for refugees within their respective nation.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office works closely with the devolved administrations, as well as strategic migration partnerships and local authorities, on the allocation of both short and long term accommodation for refuges resettled to the UK.

Electric Scooters: Road Traffic Offences

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many e-scooters have been seized for illegal use, and (2) how many fines have been imposed, in each of the last three months in England.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of motoring offences in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales. However, the Home Office does not hold information on the numbers and types of vehicle seized for illegal use, or figures for the number of fines imposed for the illegal use of e-scooters.

Cabinet Office

10 Downing Street: Official Hospitality

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many bottles of wine were purchased for hospitality, entertainment, and related purposes, for consumption at No 10 Downing Street for the period from March 2020 and December 2021.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the monthly expenditure for hospitality, entertainment, and related purposes, at No 10 Downing Street for the period from March 2020 to December 2021.

Lord True: 10 Downing Street is a constituent part of the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office publishes transparency data by type of expenditure each month. I will place in the Library the published data for that period.

Women and Equalities

Equality Act 2010

Baroness Gale: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to enact section 106 of the Equality Act 2010.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Government keeps section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 under review but remains of the view that political parties should lead the way in increasing diverse electoral representation through their own approaches to the selection of candidates.